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Khao San Road cef Chantana "Top" Srisomphan breaks up her fried rice balls and prepares to work in the remaining ingredients for her signature salad. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Once the rice balls have been crumbled, it's time to mix in ginger (shown here in long juliennes, something I changed to minced in the recipe) and fresh herbs. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Khao yum, as interpreted by Toronto’s Khao San Road, is not a subtle dish.

The texture is crunchy, crispy, chewy and fluffy, built around cold jasmine rice that has been deep-fried in balls, cooled and crumbled. The flavour starts aggressively with red curry, fresh lime leaves, ginger and peanuts, but goes all pungent with a backdrop of fish sauce and an unfamiliar herb called Thai sawtooth (a.k.a. culantro).

This captivating crispy rice salad is the work of chef Chantana “Top” Srisomphan. It’s not overtly spicy, as some might fear or wish, but it is unmistakably Thai.

“It’s a phenomenal thing she does,” Khao San Road’s owner Monte Wan boasts of his chef’s signature dish. “I think it also opens people to the world beyond pad Thais and curries — and Toronto is definitely about that.”

If you haven’t eaten khao yum at the Adelaide St. W. restaurant, you can try it July 24 to 27 at Fort York at the first Taste of Toronto, where it will be tweaked with homemade sour pork sausage.

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It’s the North American debut of the international restaurant festival. IMG’s Taste Festivals launched in London 10 years ago and will be in 22 cities this summer, including Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Moscow, Melbourne, Dublin, Mumbai and Johannesburg.

Toronto was chosen, according to IMG Canada’s Sam Galet, because of its “constantly booming and evolving food scene.”

The festival expects 20,000 people over four days, but the set-up is a little different than what we’re used to.

A ticket ($30 advance/$35 at the door) gets you into just one four-hour session — Thursday dinner, Friday/Saturday lunch or dinner, or Sunday brunch (which is actually five hours). With the ticket comes $6 worth of “crowns” (festival lingo for dollars) on a pre-loaded card since this is a “cashless” festival.

You swap crowns for small-plate dishes. You interact with these chefs at hands-on cooking classes, question-and-answer sessions and demos. There’s wine, entertainment and an artisan food/drink market with 50 vendors like Greenhouse Juice Co. and Ninutik (Maple Sugar).

The goal is to be “busy and buzzy but not too packed,” says Meghan O’Hanlon, director of Taste Festivals of Canada.

Each restaurant has been asked to design three festival dishes. Fourteen have dedicated spaces. Four others rotate in a “pop-up” space. Momofuku founder David Chang will do a Thursday talk and book signing.

“Our strategy is it’s the latest, the greatest and the hottest restaurants,” explains O’Hanlon, “and really to get that mix of cuisines, which isn’t a problem in Toronto.”

On the multicultural front, Khao San Road will be joined by Kinton Ramen, JaBistro, Guu Toronto, El Caballito and its new sibling Los Colibris.

Barque Smokehouse, Bosk, Hopgoods Foodliner, Richmond Station, Rose and Sons/Big Crow/Fat Pasha, The Grove, The Harbord Room and Yours Truly have also signed on. The final restaurants have yet to be finalized.

Khao San Road will feature a spicy shrimp salad and Thai tea shake along with the crispy rice salad. The three-year-old restaurant is known for offering vegan and gluten-free options.

Srisomphan kindly makes my khao yum with her vegan red curry paste since I’m allergic to the shrimp paste used in the regular version. (She leaves in the fish sauce since I’m not allergic to that.)

“I dream about more people and more customers,” admits the Thai-born chef. “I dream that my food is more popular. I try to dream up more specialties for the people of Toronto.”

Khao Yum (Crispy Rice Salad)

From Khao San Road chef Chantana “Top” Srisomphan. Thai coriander goes by multiple names including sawtooth, long coriander, culantro, ngo gai (Vietnamese) and phak chi farang (Thai). It has long green leaves with serrated edges and virtually no stems. If you can’t find it, double your green onions rather than substitute regular cilantro. Look for it at some Asian supermarkets, including Sunny Foodmart (four locations) and Oriental Harvest on Spadina (which has five other branches under various names).

To finely shred (chiffonade) fresh lime leaves, cut out tough stems. Stack the leaves and then roll them into a long, tight cylinder. Slice very thinly into short ribbons.

In large pot or wok, heat 3 inches (7.5-cm) oil over medium-high to 350F (180C) using deep-fry thermometer.

Using 4 tbsp/2 oz stainless steel, spring-action cookie scoop, form rice into balls and carefully drop directly into oil (or use a 1/4 cup/60 mL measure). You should have about 6. Fry until golden and crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Let cool 1 hour.

For sauce, in medium mixing bowl, whisk lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chili flakes until sugar is dissolved. Add fried rice balls, crumbing and breaking into pieces. Mix well by hand until rice is coated in sauce.

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